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    Any Clevo's that Can Do External Graphics Card?

    Discussion in 'e-GPU (External Graphics) Discussion' started by caelric, Mar 17, 2016.

  1. caelric

    caelric Notebook Enthusiast

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    As the subject says, are the Clevo chassis capable of external graphics cards, yet?
     
  2. HTWingNut

    HTWingNut Potato

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    Probably not because they usually have high end GPU's anyhow. But latest ones are coming with Thunderbolt 3, so that may be an option.
     
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  3. caelric

    caelric Notebook Enthusiast

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    The goal is to have a strong processor, with an okay graphics chip, say a 970M, in a 14 or 15 inch chassis, and at home, have it plugged into a 'docking station' that contains perhaps SLI 980GTXs (or the next gen of nvidia cards) into a 4k monitor for a very powerful solution at home. Unplug it, and take it with you, for a lightish mobile solution
     
  4. bloodhawk

    bloodhawk Derailer of threads.

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    Anything with a Thunderbolt 3 port should be able to eGPU like Razer Core. Or anything with an internal pcie slot, should be enough for the DIY Setup.
     
  5. HTWingNut

    HTWingNut Potato

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    Problem is the bandwidth. A single GTX 980 will oversaturate the 40 Gbit/sec bus let alone SLI. Right now a desktop GTX 960 or 970 is about max you could really consider, and that's about on par with a 980m.

    eGPU is really for a system that has an Intel GPU or weak dedicated, because higher end mobile GPU's about match bandwidth of a mid-range desktop, i.e. 970m/980m ~ desktop 960/970.
     
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  6. ETisME

    ETisME Notebook Guru

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    Just a GTX970?
    I am not very good at hardware, please enlighten me about this:
    so it basically means the best eGPU card we can have is stuck at a GTX970 level of performance, no matter how much newer or better the cards are, even pascal?
    i.e. if pascal newer equivalent of GTX970 is released, it is still going to be limited to similar level of performance?

    I read on internet somewhere that the performance loss is just about 3-5% if I put in a 980ti. guess I was over optimistic.
     
  7. HTWingNut

    HTWingNut Potato

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    It all comes down to how much info can be passed through the pipe. Lots of data is exchanged between CPU and GPU to process frames. Some are less CPU dependent so it might not matter so much, but as resolutions go up and the need/desire for higher frames and detail go up, it will bottleneck it, yes basically to a GTX 970 level of performance regardless what you put in there.

    It's a perfect option for those that have a less than stellar dedicated GPU or no dedicated GPU at all. Otherwise, you'll really limit the performance with future GPU upgrades and may be better off with a 980m level GPU in the laptop.
     
  8. Mazrob

    Mazrob Notebook Enthusiast

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    Excellent point. I thought getting a laptop today with TB3 means I wouldn't need to worry about replacing it in the future just because of outdated GPU, but that is a great point you are making.